ABA is disappointed with the Senate’s vote against cloture on Chairman Roberts’ voluntary national GMO labeling standard (S.764).

“It is unfortunate that Senate leaders were unable to come together and provide bakers the federal preemption necessary to avoid an unworkable patchwork of state labeling laws,” said ABA President and CEO Robb MacKie. “With bakers within days of making costly decisions on how to comply with Vermont’s labeling requirement, the failure of today’s vote leaves them in dire need of a national standard,” added MacKie.

“We thank Senator Joe Donnelly (IN) for his efforts to find middle ground on this important issue and hope that Chairman Roberts and Ranking Member Stabenow will stay at the negotiating table and continue working toward a voluntary labeling agreement that guarantees that bakers can deliver the transparency the public is seeking without the stigmatization of a mandatory warning label,” said MacKie.